A dying breed: The freestanding staircase

March 02, 20132 min read

Many newer homes in the Northern parts of the United States follow a basic blueprint that has a colonial floor plan infused with a number of earlier architectural influences. For instance, front porches and peaked pediments like those found on Greek Revival residences are common, along with Palladian windows and large entryways not dissimilar to the kind seen in Federalist architecture. While all of these styles have combined to set the stage for the current landscape of new home architecture, each one has had its own period of popularity over the past few centuries.

One style of staircase that seems to have not survived the transition entirely is the freestanding staircase. This kind of structure allows people to walk underneath it, as there are no visible base supports. In some older residences that featured grand entryways, these staircases, usually featuring prominent box newels and elaborately turned hardwood balusters, made a dramatic statement as they poured into the main foyer without robbing the homeowner of too much space.

Instead, modern staircases usually get support from a side wall that they are attached to. These structures usually only have one balustrade with, at most, a wooden handrail along the support wall. A freestanding structure, however, allows homeowners to utilize a wider array of stair parts and make a bigger statement.

Homeowners who would like to create a dazzling staircase that harkens back to the early days of American home architecture should look into incorporating a freestanding structure into their homes. If such an undertaking is infeasible, Stair Parts USA has a wide array of hardwood stair parts that homeowners can implement to elevate the look of their flights.